Album Review: Mors Subita – Into The Pitch Black

Mors Subita are a modern melodic death metal band from Oulu, Finland. After two demos and two EPs, their first full-length album Human Waste Compression was released in 2011. Now, with 18 years of experience, these Finnish rockers are back with Into The Pitch Black.

‘Path To The Abyss’ provides a melodic and gentle opening to the album before progressing into a spoken word, haunting overture. However, this delicacy is soon overwritten by the heavy beat that ‘As Humanity Weeps’ brings. The punishing pace coupled with heartfelt lyrics proves this song has a strong impact both musically and lyrically, creating a solid introduction to the album.

‘Dead Sun’ has a notably slower pace than its predecessor and has a greater contrast between aggression and melody, making this a fantastic headbang-inducing song. Most true to the melo-death genre, though, is ‘Into the Pitch Black’. The guitar riffs are bright and the vocals compliment this with a necessary violence. However, despite being the title track, this is not the best Mors Subita have to offer and ‘Alas’ proves this in abundance. Immediately, this song descends into a much heavier tone and ramps up the volume. The accelerated beats and blaring bass bring a new level of ferocity and adrenaline to the album whilst the gang vocals and harmonies around the chorus create an anthemic feel. With all of these elements rolled into one, ‘Alas’ is conglomerate in the best way possible and is the standout track of Into The Pitch Black.

Opening with a punishing pace, it is clear that Mors Subita know how to pack a punch whilst still maintaining a tremendous melody throughout ‘Vultures’, but it is ‘Fear Is Just The Beginning’ which steals the limelight here. The instrumental is a clear display of Mors Subita’s talent, as it essentially takes ‘Vultures’ and amplifies it 10 times bigger. This musicality is carried through to the final chorus where the song is met with With a phenomenal instrumental and a final chorus dripping with striking harmonies.

Rounding off the album, the penultimate track ‘Shadows’ takes a much slower beat than previously. The new-found melancholy tone is formidable at first, although the five-minute track does drag on a little too long. Finally, though, ‘The Void’ is a fantastic conclusion to Into The Pitch Black. This song proves that the heavier and harder-hitting style truly is Mors Subita’s forté and ultimately ends the album on a high.

With a band name meaning ‘sudden death’ in Latin, you expect a big sound with big impact and Into The Pitch Black certainly delivers. Granted there are some weaker songs like ‘Shadows’, but that said it is uncommon for an album to be perfect through-and-through. Even if it is a little predictable at points, Mors Subita have executed the album fantastically well and it’s certainly one to listen to.